United Kingdom and British Commonwealth only: Represented in these territories on behalf of Martha Millard at Sterling Lord Literistic.

William Gibson is an American-Canadian writer, and the father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction. After coined the term ‘cyberspace’ in 1982, and popularized it in his first novel, NEUROMANCER (1984), which has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide. While his early writing took the form of short stories, Gibson has since written nine critically acclaimed novels (one in collaboration), contributed articles to several major publications, and has collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers and musicians. His writing has been cited as an influence on science fiction authors, academia, cyberculture, and technology. His latest novel, THE PERIPHERAL, will be published in 2014 by Viking (UK) and Putnam (US).

Gibson describes his childhood self as ‘exactly the sort of introverted, hyper-bookish boy you’ll find in the biographies of most American science fiction writers, obsessively filling shelves with paperbacks and digest-sized magazines, dreaming of one day becoming a writer myself.’ Gibson’s upbringing was peripatetic – born in South Carolina, he moved to Virginia, was sent to boarding school in Arizona, and before graduating from high school ‘joined up with rest of the Children’s Crusade of the day’ – moving to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft. He has lived in Canada ever since. He started writing in 1977.

Since then, alongside his non-fiction articles, his critically-acclaimed novels include PATTERN RECOGNITION (2003), THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE (with Bruce Sterling, 1990), and SPOOK COUNTRY (2007) and ZERO HISTORY (2010), and more.

covers

reviews

+

THE PERIPHERAL

+

‘His writing has been refined over the years, but Gibson still maintains that sparse, edgy style that has been a characteristic of his work from the very beginning… Ultimately, THE PERIPHERAL is a story about people; their hopes, their fears and frustrations. Despite advances in technology, the worlds still consist of the “haves” and “have-nots”, making Gibson’s protagonists and their companions constant battlers against the system, striving for change, for something better, something they deserve. Gibson remains as unnervingly prophetic as ever, making his futures feel like they’re just around the corner, products of humankind’s inability to act when necessary, transforming a sci-fi whodunit into a work of fiction that feels both ahead of its time and frighteningly relevant to today’s world.’ 9/10* — Starburst

‘Seminal cyberpunk author Gibson, who has spent the last several years writing the more-or-less present-day Zero History series of novels, returns to the future with this slow-burning thriller, ambitiously structured on either side of an economic and ecological collapse… All of Gibson’s characters are intensely real, and Flynne is a clever, compelling, stereotype-defying, unhesitating protagonist who makes this novel a standout.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘In THE PERIPHERAL, William Gibson’s first futuristic novel since 1999’s ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES, we experience the fantastic synthesis of a 20th century writer — the Gibson of NEUROMANCER, eyeball-kicks of flash and noir; and the Gibson of PATTERN RECOGNITION, arch and sly and dry and keen… A perfect fusion of Gibson’s pulp heritage with his fine-tuned design and social sensibilities… From the microscale word choices to the macroscale plot, structure and themes, the book is strange and contemporary in a perfectly futuristic way.’ — Boing Boing

‘Dramatic, scary, creepy,violent, and finally satisfying… like any really well-designed thrill ride or mystery tour (or sonnet or string quartet), as soon as you get off, you want to get right on for another go-round.’ — Locus

‘A smart, nuanced twist on time travel… THE PERIPHERAL is a fast-paced murder investigation and political thriller… compelling… the worlds are compelling in their own right as well, despite their desolation. Flynne’s town is dominated by big-box stores, the economy fueled by a combination of service jobs and 3D printing piracy. Netherton’s London is a rehabilitated disaster area, where you’re more likely to see telepresence robots outside than real people. But they’re as full of personality as any crowded city, described in Gibson’s pithy, poetic prose. THE PERIPHERAL also feels more accessible than his last several books.’ — The Verge

‘While placed firmly in the sci-fi genre of his earlier works, Gibson’s latest retains the social commentary from his more recent novels… This is quintessential Gibson: gonzo yet cool, sharp-edged, sophisticated…’ — Kirkus

‘William Gibson is one of the smartest writers around… THE PERIPHERAL starts off by throwing the reader into the deep end of a complex story set in a future world rich in highly-advanced technology. Or, actually, two future worlds. Only gradually do the pieces fall into place and you begin to understand what is going on… Gibson is not a difficult writer but he is demanding, and here those demands are well rewarded. THE PERIPHERAL is intellectual entertainment of the first order, a pop SF thriller that will make you think.’ — Toronto Star

DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOUR

+

‘William Gibson’s collected essays mark him out as a remarkable visionary.’ — Guardian

‘Gibson is, of course, one of our greatest science-fiction writers, exalted for his talent for depicting futures that are just around the corner… Gibson’s writing enters the bloodstream like a drug, producing a mild hallucinogenic effect that lasts for hours… Such is the power of his prose that when I glanced up from the pages of this book and surveyed the street-side around me, I felt as if I were wearing Gibson-glasses…’ — New York Times

‘While his dark and glittering novels still provide the best introduction to his work for newcomers, anyone already in thrall to his sidelong perspective on the world will find lots to enjoy here.’ — The Telegraph

‘William Gibson is one of our finest science fiction authors, because he knows that people are the strangest products science has ever produced. And his new essay collection, DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR, gives us insight into how he came to understand that so well, when many other SF authors struggle to see it. DISTRUST does not disappoint: Gibson completists will definitely need the book, but I also recommend it for Gibson newbies who want to get a grip on where he’s coming from. Fans of Gibson’s voice will recognize in his non-fiction the luminous, open-ended sound of his novels. Part of that sound comes from the nature of his ideas; the rest, from his skill in bringing the dream-state of our culture to us in lucid yet elusive prose… Gibson’s fiction is in some ways deeply autobiographical: after reading this collection of lovely essays, it’s clear where his characters get their joy for art, music, The Footage, and blue jeans of inscrutable provenance.’ — io9.com

‘… it’s a testament to Gibson’s clinical skills as a writer (and first-class observer) that he can make a fleeting, long-ago first impression sound like a revelation, albeit one on a very deliberately small scale… for all Gibson’s self-effacement, he has highly evolved powers of observation… Though he’s often lauded as a big-picture man, these pieces make one thing clear: He’s even better with the little details.’ — Onion AV Club

‘Gibson is a prophet and a satirist, a black comedian and an astounding architect of cool. He’s also responsible for much of the world we live in.’ — Spectator

‘… for the whole time I’ve been writing this review, I have been wanting to step back, to let Gibson speak, to stop wasting your time with my inadequate analysis and to simply encourage you to get yourself a copy of this fabulous book and read it.’ — Strange Horizons

‘William Gibson has carved out a position as an essayist and nonfiction writer (“journalist” would be neither quite accurate nor agreeable to Gibson, who insists he is nothing of the sort) capable of uniting the novelist’s insatiable curiosity, the travel writer’s ability to sniff out the weird and wonderful, and the future theorist’s speculative insights… prose that crackles with wit, dark humor, and an air of hip jadedness is a testament to his considerable talent as a writer. The pieces are first and foremost a pleasure to read, whether Gibson is reminiscing about early encounters with the work of H.G. Wells or crossing paths with Michael Stipe amid the neon frenzy of a Shinjuku night. Those familiar with his fiction will certainly recognize Gibson’s style, though the nonfictions collected here reveal, paradoxically or not, far more of Gibson’s inner workings than his fiction does, dispensing aperçus with an irreverence and acerbic, almost snarky tone less readily apparent in his fiction… ecstatic and brilliant writing on a panoply of topics…’ — Bookslut

‘Gibson’s non-fiction writing is a peanut in the bland Cracker Jack of the dead tree publications where they first appeared. He’s often graced the otherwise leaden pages of Wired with his unique style and many of the pieces in this book appeared elsewhere, whether in magazines or at public talks. His non-fiction is rare enough that we definitely want more… I’m probably preaching to the choir, though. Gibson is a gem, our own Jules Verne who planted so many seeds in popular culture that it is difficult to look out across our roiling intellectual landscape and not see his ideas… well worth a read. And while you wait for it to download onto your Fire or your iPad or your Sandbenders, give thanks to the seer of our age who didn’t expect things to turn out that rosy yet still understood the good in both us and, more important, our variegated and ever more cunning tools.’ — TechCrunch

‘A debut novel set for brain stun! Streetwise SF… one of the most unusual and involving narratives to be read in many an artificially induced blue moon!’ — The Times on NEUROMANCER

‘PATTERN RECOGNITION is William Gibson’s best book since he rewrote all the rules in NEUROMANCER. Gibson casts a master extrapolator’s eye on our present, and shows it to us as if for the first time.’ — Neil Gaiman

‘A return to the present makes [Gibson] more prescient than ever… Gibson’s narrative is more relaxed than it has been in years… his own laser-perfect cultural radar – Malcolm Gladwell meets Marshall McLuhan in a chat room – [carries] the story along. A slick but surprisingly humane piece of work from the father of cyberpunk.’ — Kirkus on PATTERN RECOGNITION

‘SPOOK COUNTRY is less a conventional thriller than a devastatingly precise reflection of the American zeitgeist, and it bears comparison to the best work of Don DeLillo… Gibson takes another large step forward and reaffirms his position as one of the most astute and entertaining commentators on our astonishing, chaotic present.’ — Washington Post Book World

‘His eye for the eerie in the everyday still lends events an otherworldly sheen.’ — New Yorker on ZERO HISTORY

‘William Gibson can craft sentences of uncanny beauty, and is our great poet of crowds.’ — San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle on ZERO HISTORY

‘Gibson’s ability to hit the sweet spot of cutting-edge culture is uncanny.’ — Atlanta Journal-Constitution on ZERO HISTORY